


First meetings

by FrankCastlesTankTop (SecretlyWritingFanfic)



Category: Marvel, The Punisher (TV 2017), kastle - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Kastle drabbles, Look at all the ways these two nerds can get together!, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-23 08:10:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14328246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecretlyWritingFanfic/pseuds/FrankCastlesTankTop
Summary: I asked the Tumblr hive mind for Kastle prompts and MAN did y'all deliver! Results are below and believe you me - I'm adding as I go so keep 'em coming! Hit me up at @frankcastlestanktop with your awesome ideas.





	First meetings

  
[onebatch2batch ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/onebatch2batch/pseuds/onebatch2batch)says:  
_AU: Karen gets "stuck" next to Frank on a flight and her computer is dead so she can't work._  


Night flights, Karen knew, were a delicate balance of isolation and social grace: board fast, drink fast, turn off the overhead light before anyone could get annoyed and stay quiet until landing.  
In the last month Bulletin business had sent her to such exotic locations as Fort Worth, Pittsburgh, and now Denver. All leaving from JFK no earlier than 11 pm. (”I’ll take the cost of a day flight out of your paycheck,” Ellison had offered via email when Karen complained about the 12:15 am boarding time.)

After nearly missing check-in thanks to Queens traffic and arguing with the ticketing agent about the size of her carry on, Karen was sure she’d be better off walking to Colorado. When she arrived at the gate frustration welled in her chest.

The line wound through rows of seats and tailed off just inside the newsstand at the far end of the concourse. It was 11:10 pm and no one was sitting. The ticket in her hand announced Page, Karen Ms. would board with Group Q. And may God have mercy on her soul. 

She was damned if she’d stand for an hour. 

Karen unloaded her case, jacket, and purse in an empty chair and pulled her laptop open. Ten minutes became thirty, then forty. Then, at 12:30 the line began to move as groups A, B, C and so on marched on board. Her laptop chimed softly – the battery icon flashed red. 

“Shit.” 

Packing up, Karen joined the line and hoped there would be enough juice left to finish her article before take-off. Somewhere between the fifteen-minute shuffle to her seat and finally getting back to work, the laptop gave up the ghost for good. Karen sighed, pulled out her notes and started to scribble. 

“Ma’am?” 

She looked up from her work and the world ground to a halt. 

He was tall, handsome, dressed in a black Henley and olive bush jacket. Thick black hair in a shagged-out crew cut with a shadow of dark stubble across his jaw and chin. The stranger offered a small smile that lit his deep brown eyes.

“I think you’re in my seat.” 

Oh god. 

Karen leaped up, flustered, scattering her papers and pen. The stranger made a sound of surprise and bent into the row to help collect her things. They fumbled objects back and forth, Karen gathering loose pages then handing them to him to be tapped square before he would spot another pen or paper clip and hand the mess back to her as he retrieved it. 

“I’m so sorry.”

“No, no it’s my fault.” 

“Please! I’m so –“

A sharp throat-clearing stopped them both. Looking over the headrest, Karen could see the line of passengers behind him, with varying looks of impatience. A harried woman – sleeping toddler on her shoulder – gave them a sour look. “How about you apologize from your seat, pal?”

Red crept into the man’s cheeks, and he nodded, sinking down beside Karen, who felt her face grow hot. The man settled into his seat, offering small gestures of apology to passengers as they filtered past. He turned back to Karen, boarding pass in hand.

“Trade?”

From somewhere deep beneath the day’s trials, Karen felt a laugh bubble up. She accepted the stub and exchanged it for her own. 

“Nice to meet you, Castle, Frank, Mister.” She tapped his name gently with one finger.

“You too, Page, Karen – you’re kidding.” His face split into a wide grin that warmed her instantly, “Page, Karen of Bulletin, New York, The?”

“One and the same.” 

“Read your stuff all the time – God, you got a nose for great stories.”

Her blush returned, staining even her arms and chest now. “Nice of you to say so, Castle, Frank.”

“Hope you don’t mind, ma’am… can I buy you a drink before the lights go out?”

Night flights, Karen was discovering, could be full of surprises.


End file.
